Agro the Betta

My poor Agro has a fluid filled mass on the side of his body. I thought at first it was a tumor, but after much research learned that when transparent its possible that it is Malawi Bloat or "mystery bloat". There is no specific cure but some have seen healing results with feeding food that is soaked in Metronidazole. I feel that I have diagnosed him too late. However i have purchased this medication and hope that his mass will at least stop growing. I've had this little guy for a year and my boyfriend and I have grown attached to him and hope that he is not in pain or will suffer from this. Vibes for my little Agro please.
If anyone knows more about this uncommon disease, please share with me your experience or knowledge.

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=40524
my resource for finding a cure

Oh hun I hate to tell you this but I think he's a gonner. Bettas do not generally react very well to medications. I'm not familiar with metro and I'm going to have to do some research on it, most common fish medications will damage a betta's delicate labrynth (breathing organ).

The only thing I have found that will successfully treat bettas is a fish antibiotic. You can get it at a large fish-store in our province (Big Al's). I've never used it to treat this kind of bloat but I have used it to treat tumours (not cure).

Edit

Okay the page you linked, also linked this page: http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25332

While I CAN NOT IMAGINE taking a fish to a vet, let alone 3 hours each way... I think the advice they got from the vet is far more betta-appropriate.

Please add salt to the water and maintain at 1tsp/gallon of water in his tank. Please treat him daily with the antibiotic soak (Baytril) for 5 hours a day as directed. Continue to feed as usual. If he has a kidney infection or other infection this will help. If he has a tumor, he will get worse in spit of these treatments.

Click to expand...

Something is stabbing at me from the very depths of my memory but I just can't seem to bring it up :\\.


Edit Again
From the vet report:

Marine species of mycobacteria are known to be transmitted to humans, so caution with handling any other fish or equipment that may have come into contact with this fish is
warranted.

Click to expand...

SO BE CAREFUL!

Also Metro seems to be chiefly used as a cancer drug, I both do and don't understand the vet's attempt to use it with "Rusty" - honestly I think it was a shot in the dark & wouldn't give it to Agro unless he's REALLY that bad.

Anaesthetizing him and drawing some fluids is a good option - but you're either going to have to want to take him to the vet or be confident doing something like that yourself.

I loved my bettas and there were a few that I was VERY attached too but $800!? I hope she makes a good salary.
(how many stray cats could have been saved for that amount? how many CHILDREN fed? Oh I'm not going to start a rant... this is about Agro! )

Edited for a third time - I hope no one is reading me as I go!!

Peas are very good if you don't think he's digesting his food well but I would put him on live/frozen bloodworms right away to keep his appetite & his spirits up . Lots of different varieties of live-food are available over the internet. They are always very cheap when you get them from other hobbiests who have too-large of colonies, and shipping is almost nothing on creepy-crawlies .

STOP


Sorry got tired of editing my old post.

I don't know why the fish-junkies at UB didn't look into this allot better!!! SHAME ON THEM!

In this case the diagnosis was MYCOBATERICA which is an AEROBIC bacteria. Metronidazole has little/no effect on aerobic bacteria.

I suspect that the strong course of medication his owner gave Rusty was what killed him in the end (although he sounded far to gone to save anyway).

Follow the vet's initial suggestion with the Baytril bath & salt. That is your best bet, Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is actually ment to treat Mycobacteria, it was probably just to late for Rusty. When it comes to bettas you have to catch their illness VERY early.

Take the Metro back to the store.

Thank you! I will look into Baytril. I already use aquarium salt in his tank. Should I try an Epsom salt bath? Wont do it until i research further. I do feed him frozen bloodworms as well as pellets. Since he has SBD, he doesn't swim much, which in a way will help him keep up his weight. Right now i'm searching for a wider and more shallow tank to prevent him from struggling to reach the surface with his SBD and now malawi bloat.

Reason for Metro:
"Problems Identified: 1. fluid in the abdomen 2. possible elevated number of protozoans (flagellates) in the fecal 3. a couple protozoans were observed on the skin biopsy, but these appeared to be free-living organisms and not clinically significant.
It is also possible, that because we were treating with metronidazole that we complicated the seeing of the organisms. They may have even been greatly reduced in numbers. I wouldn't rule out that Rusty had that problem along with the mycobacteria. The mycobacterial disease as described would not have been expected to cause the fluid in the belly other than if it was obliterating more than 2/3 of the kidneys."

The metro was perscribed for the protozoans. So the issue is with protozoans and mycobacteria?

PS. Agro's bulge isn't as big as the one on the pics of Rusty. So hopefully i can help him!

Again thank you for responding and researching with me.
I googled Malawi Bloat and while most talk about the other fish chillid or something like that... it reccomends metro and more specifically Clout. What do you think?

I REALLY think they are wrong about the Malawi Bloat diagnosis.

In regards to the UB forum: that specific diagnosis was given based on it "sounding like Malawai Bloat" during a conversation with a pharmaceutical rep - hardly a reliable source.

I really feel in 'Rusty's' case it was a last-ditch effort when all else failed.

I have tried clout to treat similar bloats in bettas - it killed them. If you want to try, use a 1/2 or 1/4 dose.

That's what has been bothering me BTW! I haven't kept bettas in the last 4 years because of a transitional life-style & now living in an EXTREMELY hard-water area; but before that I was breeding & selling for a few years. I remember now towards the end of my 'career' having quite a few bloat cases. The only way I was able to prolong life in any of my bettas was through Antibiotic use. I now remember when I started using the antibiotic I got a VERY sharp decrease in the betta-deaths. However I was breeding show fish who are very fragile & with allot of these bettas, if they loose their breeding ability they were no long of monetary value to me so I didn't treat overly aggressively.

Obviously Agro is a pet & means allot to you, I applaud your interest in treating him!!

Chichlids are VERY far removed from anabatoids (bettas), it's like using a pig diagnosis on a cat.

In regards to the protozoan

...but these appeared to be free-living organisms and not clinically significant.

Click to expand...

I'm sure they were just taking advantage of a sick fish and should not have been treated for.

No one is quite sure what Malawi Bloat is caused by but one of the best theories is that it is caused by parasite that for some reason gains hold on your fish. That would have been the reasoning behind prescribing the metro.

For more information on Malawi Bloat.


That is quite concerning that Agro is also experiencing swim-bladder issues, that may well mean that his condition is very far advanced. Did he develop the 'sbd' first or second to the tumour growth? If he's got the same granular tissue growing it could be constricting him swim-bladder making it impossible for him to fill it properly.

OR

It may mean that he's just constipated!! Stop feeding him anything for a day or two and give him some peas. You can do that along-side his medication.

Here is a good article: Constipation


Providing him with a floating pad will give him a place to sit if he's not feeling well. Almond tree leaves (you'd have to get them online) or a lily pad are both good options.

In the year that I've had him, he's had SBD the majority of it. I researched it and understand it. I've even made him floating tubes that he uses to stay near the surface. The bulge appeared around late oct/early nov, so very recent. Thank you again for your response, I'm understanding it a little better now. He poops very well, no constipation. Again, I will try the antibiotic.

I really think that is the most sensible next step .

Who knows - if it doesn't work you can always try the metro I guess :\\.

Well, My little guy passed away over night. With his condition I'm very surprised he lasted this long. I honestly felt that he was suffering and hoped this day would come so he could rest in peace and swim with all the other bettas... they get along in fishy heaven. I'll miss you!
Oct '08 - Mar '10

Aw, I am so sorry.